Federal Register / Vol. 72, No.
223 / Tuesday, November 20, 2007 / Notices
area management recommended in an
individual petition.
Type of Respondents: State and
territorial governors.
Estimated Annual Number of
Respondents: 36; if all affected states
and territories submit petitions.
Estimated Annual Number of
Responses per Respondent: 1.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on
Respondents: Up to 36,000 hours.
Comment is invited on: (1) Whether
this collection of information is
necessary for the stated purposes and
the proper performance of the functions
of the agency, including whether the
information will have practical or
scientific utility; (2) the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden of the
collection of information, including the
validity of the methodology and
assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance
the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (4)
ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on
respondents, including the use of
automated, electronic, mechanical, or
other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information
technology.
All comments received in response to
this notice, including names and
addresses when provided, will be a
matter of public record. Comments will
be summarized and included in the
request for Office of Management and
Budget approval.
Dated: November 15, 2007.
Gloria Manning,
Associate Deputy Chief, NFS.
[FR Doc. E7–22668 Filed 11–19–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–11–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Umatilla National Forest, Grant County,
OR Farley Analysis Area Vegetation
Management Project
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION:Notice of intent to prepare an
environmental impact statement.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of
Agriculture—Forest Service proposes to
conduct vegetation management
activities on approximately 17,500 acres
of upland forest sites in the Farley
Analysis Area to restore sustainable
forest conditions in the Desolation
pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
Creek watershed. The proposed action
will use a range of mechanical harvest
and non-harvest thinning and
prescribed fire activities to alter species
composition, stand structure, and fire
VerDate Aug<31>2005 17:01 Nov 19, 2007 Jkt 214001
65289
regime condition class to re-create
conditions that are consistent with the
historic range of variability for forests of
the Blue Mountains of northeastern
Oregon, and to capture the commercial
value of forest raw materials for the
benefit of local economies.
The Farley Analysis Area
encompasses the Desolation Creek
watershed which covers 69,672 acres of
diverse mountainous, mostly forested
landscapes ranging in elevation from
7,765 ft at its headwaters to 2810 ft at
its confluence with the North Fork John
Day River near Dale, Oregon. It includes
both National Forest and privately-
owned lands; private lands comprise
about 18 percent of the total area,
mostly at lower elevations at the
western end of the watershed.
Development and implementation of
these actions will be conducted in
accordance with the National Forest
Management Act, National
Environmental Policy Act, Council on
Environmental Quality regulations,
Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act,
Endangered Species Act, and with the
Umatilla National Forest Land and
Resource Management Plan and
scientific recommendations of the
Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem
Management Project.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope
of the analysis must be received by
December 12, 2007. The Draft EIS is
expected to be filed with the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
and be available to the public for review
by February 2008. The Final EIS is
scheduled to be completed by April
2008.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to
the Responsible Official, Kevin D.
Martin, Forest Supervisor, Umatilla
National Forest, 2517 S.W. Hailey
Avenue, Pendleton, OR 97801. Send
electronic comments to: comments-
pacificnorthwestumatilla@fs.fed.us.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Michael A. Beckwith, Technical Writer-
Editor, North Fork John Day Ranger
District, 401 Main Street, Ukiah, OR
97880, phone (541) 427–5335. E-mail:
mabeckwith@fs.fed.us.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Purpose
and Need. Since the early 1900s, fire
has been aggressively excluded from
forest ecosystems throughout the
Nation. From the mid to late 1900s,
timber harvest practices in the interior
Columbia Basin have emphasized
removal primarily of mature ponderosa
pine. The result has been a shift in
forest conditions toward dense stands of
Douglas and grand fir containing large
amounts of dead and decaying wood
PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\20NON1.SGM
that now are subject to insect
infestations, disease, and very large
wildfires, in contrast to the more open
stands of fire-adapted species (such as
ponderosa pine) that would be expected
to occur historically.
In addition, in 1996 the Bull, Summit
and Tower wildfires in and near the
Farley Analysis Area involved mature
lodgepole pine forests that had
experienced substantial insect mortality.
These fires were uncharacteristically
intense and covered large areas (over
130,000 acres) because, as a result of
past fire suppression and timber harvest
practices, the forests had become more
dense (more trees per acre) and
contained a larger amount of dead wood
than would have existed historically.
These fires resulted in greater loss of old
forest structure, wildlife cover and
habitat, riparian structure and
vegetation, erosion and detrimental
effects to soils over very large areas than
would have been anticipated
historically.
The Desolation Watershed Analysis
(1999) found that almost 60 percent of
upland-forest sites in the Farley area
exhibit moderate or high departures
from the characteristic species
composition, structure and stand
density conditions than would have
existed historically. These conditions
are outside the range of historic
variability for forests in the Blue
Mountains and are not sustainable over
the long-term, with the end result likely
to be very large, destructive wildfires.
Therefore, the purpose and need for the
Farley Vegetation Management Project
is to improve the long-term
sustainability of upland forests by
reducing stand densities and fuel loads,
restoring appropriate species
composition, altering forest structure
and fire regime condition class,
regenerating mature lodgepole stands
that currently exist, and to capture the
commercial value of raw wood materials
for the benefit of local economies.
Proposed Action. The Forest Service
proposes to conduct mechanical harvest
and non-harvest thinning, prescribed
fire, fuels treatment, and reforestation
activities on approximately 17,460 acres
in the Farley Analysis Area in
accordance with the resource
management objectives and standards
set forth in the Umatilla National Forest
Land and Resource Management Plan
(1990) and the scientific
recommendations of the Interior
Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management
Project (1996). These activities are
anticipated to yield approximately
60,000 hundred cubic feet of
merchantable material. Approximately
100 miles of open and seasonally open
20NON1
 65290 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 223 / Tuesday, November 20, 2007 / Notices
roads will be required for the proposed
action, including construction of
approximately 40 miles of new system
and temporary roads, and
approximately 50 miles of
reconstruction and maintenance of
existing forest system roads.
Approximately 2 miles of existing road
will be closed and/or decommissioned
at the conclusion of the proposed
activities.
The proposed action requires
amendments to the Forest Plan with
respect to connectivity among stands
exhibiting old forest structure, scenic
values, and total area (at the specific
stand, subwatershed and watershed
level) allowed to be in the less than 20
year old age class. Implementation of
the proposed actions could begin in late
2008.
Possible Alternatives. Alternatives
will include the proposed action, no
action, and additional alternatives that
respond to issues generated during the
scoping process. The agency will give
notice of the full environmental analysis
and decision-making process so
interested and affected people may
participate and contribute to the final
decision.
Scoping. Correspondence with tribes,
government agencies, organizations, and
individuals who have indicated interest
will be conducted and input will be
solicited.
Preliminary Issues. Preliminary issues
identified include the potential effects
of the proposed action on long-term
forest conditions and sustainability, fish
and wildlife habitat, hydrology and
water quality, soils and scenic values.
Comment. Public comments on this
proposed action are requested to
identify issues and alternatives to the
proposed action and to focus the scope
of the analysis. Comments received in
response to this solicitation, including
names and addresses of those who
comment, will be considered part of the
public record on this proposed action,
and will be available for public
inspection. Comments submitted
anonymously will be accepted and
considered; however, those who submit
anonymous comments will not have
standing to appeal the subsequent
decisions under 36 CFR parts 215 or
217. Additionally, pursuant to 7 CFR
1.27 (d), any person may request the
agency to withhold a submission from
the public record by showing how the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
permits such confidentially. Persons
pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
requesting such confidentially should
be aware that under the FOIA,
confidentiality may be granted in only
very limited circumstances such as to
protect trade secrets. The Forest Service
VerDate Aug<31>2005 17:01 Nov 19, 2007 Jkt 214001
will inform the requester of the agency’s
decision regarding the request for
confidentiality, and where the request is
denied; the agency will return the
submission and notify the requester that
the comments may be resubmitted with
or without name and address within a
specified number of days.
Early Notice of Importance of Public
Participation in Subsequent
Environmental Review. A draft EIS will
be filed with the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and made
available for public review by January
2008. The EPA will publish a Notice of
Availability (NOA) of the draft EIS in
the Federal Register. The final EIS is
scheduled to be available April 2008.
The Forest Service believes at this
early stage, it is important to give
reviewers notice of several court rulings
related to public participation in the
environmental review process. First,
reviewers of draft impact statements
must structure their participation in the
environmental review of the proposal so
that it is meaningful and alerts the
agency to the reviewer’s position and
contentions. Vermont Yankee Nuclear
Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 553
(1978). Also, environmental objections
that could be raised at the draft
environmental impact stage but that are
not raised until after completion of the
final environmental impact statement
may be waived or dismissed by the
courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 f.
2d 1016, 1022 (9th Cir. 1986) and
Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490
F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980).
Because of these court rulings, it is very
important that those interested in this
proposed action participate by the close
of the 45-day comment period so that
substantive comments and objections
are made available to the Forest Service
at a time when it can meaningfully
consider them and respond to them in
the final environmental impact
statement.
To assist the Forest Service in
identifying and considering issues and
concerns on the proposed action,
comments on the draft environmental
impact statement should be as specific
as possible. It is also helpful if
comments refer to specific pages or
chapters of the draft statement.
Comments may also address the
adequacy of the draft environmental
impact statement or the merits of the
alternatives formulated and discussed in
the statement. Reviews may wish to
refer to the Council on Environmental
Quality Regulations for implementing
the procedural provisions of the
National Environmental Policy Act at 40
CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.
PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\20NON1.SGM
In the final EIS, the Forest Service is
required to respond to substantive
comments received during the comment
period for the draft EIS. The Forest
Service is the lead agency and the
responsible official is Craig Dixon,
District Ranger, North Fork John Day
Ranger District, Umatilla National
Forest. The responsible official will
decide where, and whether or not to
salvage timber, and remove potential
hazard trees. The responsible official
will select the treatment alternative(s)
for the Farley Vegetation Management,
as well as potential mitigation and
monitoring measures that may be
needed. The decision will be
documented in a record of decision. The
decision will be subject to Forest
Service Appeal Regulations (36 CFR
part 215).
Dated: November 14, 2007.
Kevin Martin,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 07–5754 Filed 11–19–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–11–M
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Notice of New Fee Site; Federal Lands
Recreation Enhancement Act, (Title
VIII, Pub. L. 108–447)
AGENCY: Coronado National Forest,
USDA Forest Service, Tucson, Arizona.
ACTION: Notice of New Fee Site.
SUMMARY: The Coronado National Forest
proposes to begin charging a new
$150.00 per day fee for rental of the
Rockfellow House located 10 miles west
of Sunsites, Arizona. Rental of the Cabin
includes overnight use. Rental of the
cabin and other facilities within the
Arizona National Forests has shown that
the public appreciates and enjoys the
availability of historic rental facilities.
Funds from the rentals will be used for
the continued operation and
maintenance of the Rockfellow House.
DATES: Rockfellow House will become
available for rent July, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Coronado National Forest,
300 West Congress, Tucson, AZ 85701
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kathy Makansi, Archaeologist,
Coronado National Forest, (520) 760–
2502.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Federal Recreation Lands Enhancement
Act (Title VII, Pub. L. 108–447) directed
the Secretary of Agriculture to publish
a six month advance notice in the
Federal Register whenever new
recreation fee areas are established. The
20NON1